I Know It's Love
by deliandery
Summary: My entry into Black Rose25's Dating Game Romance Contest featuring our favorite characters from Sherwood Smith's Crown Duel
1. First Chapter

(Okay, I finally got around to writing a fanfic for CCD. This is my entry into the contest by Blackrose. I'd ask you all for your votes. but then, you've already voted for Felsong, haven't you? I knew it! Oh well. That's okay. Hers is probably better than mine, and unless I spaced out while reading hers, I may have voted for her too.) (Everything here belongs to the stupendous Sherwood Smith. I am merely borrowing everything. I have not created anyone or anything in here. Basically, I only wish I did.)  
  
First Chapter  
  
I awoke in my chambers, and for a moment, I did not remember where I was. For a moment, I thought I was in Tlanth, and Oria would be coming in any moment to wake me for breakfast.  
  
I flipped over in my bed, and a slit on my throat stung. 'Wait' I thought. 'These aren't my sheets! They are much too comfortable. It is much too warm in here to be Tlanth!' And then I remembered everything. Our defeat of Galdran, my return to Antheral, and yesterday's skirmish with Flauvic.  
  
But how I wanted to forget.  
  
Only...  
  
I did not want to forget what happened right after that. Or did I dream it all up? Did I really just pass out cold as soon as Flauvic let me go rather than fall into Shevraeth- Vidanric's arms? Did I dream up his confession about the letters and the rings?  
  
It all seemed too heartfelt to be passed off as a dream. And as I thought about it, my heart was reacting. It was looping around in my ribs just thinking of Vidanric.  
  
I knew what it meant.  
  
It meant that it really happened.  
  
It meant that I was in love, and someone loved me back.  
  
"Mel! Are you in here?" Bran called into my room, and I scurried to the tapestry. I still wore my dress from the other day, but felt too warm to change at that exact moment.  
  
"Come in," I said, pulling the tapestry away from the door. Bran bounded into the room as Nee stepped in lightly.  
  
"So is it true?" Bran asked expectantly. "Is what Savona tells me true?"  
  
"What does Savona tell you?" I asked, a bit confused. Bran and Nee exchanged glances.  
  
"Well," Bran said wickedly, "that depends what happened... between you and Vidanric while all of Court was asleep."  
  
"Bran!" Nee said, smacking him playfully.  
  
"What?" he asked, mocking woundedness. (A/N: Is that even a word? Oh well. I'll make it up like Shakespeare.)  
  
"That sounds completely inappropriate, the way you phrased that."  
  
"She's my sister. She knows what I'm like. Now then," he turned to me again, "what exactly did happen between the two of you?"  
  
"I can't quite say," I sighed, fingering the designs on my fan, which became very squished in my sleep. "I do not know it it's a dream, or it really happened."  
  
"Well, according to Savona, you weren't dreaming." Nee smacked him again.  
  
"What exactly did he say?" I asked. Whatever did Vidanric tell him?  
  
"He told us that you and Vidanric got to know you a little better while we were in that enchanted sleep," Nee explained, shooting glares at Bran. "And naturally, this goofball finds hidden meanings in everything."  
  
Someone knocked on the wall by the tapestry. "Come in," I called.  
  
Vidanric entered.  
  
Nee's eyes shined while her mouth remained in a neutral smile.  
  
Bran's face seemed to turn red with mirth. Nee kicked him lightly, and he returned to normal. Whatever normal is for Bran.  
  
Vidanric looked around the room with polite indifference. "Is this a bad time?" he asked, backing away slightly.  
  
"Not at all," Bran said, inviting Vidanric in.  
  
"No, that's alright," he said. "I have much work to attend, and I only wished to make sure Mel- Lady Meliara was recovering." He turned his eyes to me. They seemed to penetrate my own, looking for the answer to a question I did not know.  
  
"I am fine," I said politely. "Thank you for helping me yesterday."  
  
Vidanric brushed this off with a wave of his hand as he averted his eyes. "It was my pleasure," he said, before turning his back and exiting quickly.  
  
"Are you sure nothing happened between the two of you?" Bran asked suggestively. Nee grabbed his arm and together they strode out into the hall.  
  
For a moment I stood there, not sure what to do. Mora bustled in and asked me which dress I wished to wear.  
  
The last thing on my mind was which dress I was to wear.  
  
Sensing my complete spacyness (A/N: Making up new words in fun.), Mora picked out a dress for me. It was a light blue morning dress with cuffs that made a V onto my hand, stopping just short of my middle fingers.  
  
What finger was right next to my middle finger? My ring finger. And what was on my ring finger? The ring that Vidanric gave me for my birthday.  
  
Mora must have thought I was going nuts, as I kept looking at my fingers forlornly.  
  
This finger is one finger away from my ring... this one is two... the next one three...  
  
I really was a piece of work.  
  
"You won't solve anything by just sitting here," Mora commented as the laced my white bodice.  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked. Mora just continued to lace my bodice.  
  
"It's not my place to say," she said.  
  
But Mora had given me something to think about. What was I doing, just sitting around and thinking about what had happened? The only way to find out what had actually gone through the other night, was to find out myself.  
  
And so I set off for the library, the only conceivable place Vidanric would be.  
  
He was not there.  
  
Do not be selfish, I thought to myself. Everything with Flauvic will take a long time to settle. As the future king, Vidanric is required to do the work.  
  
I settled dejectedly in a couch and read more from one of the texts I had abandoned the other night. Before everything went wrong.  
  
It wasn't long afterwards when Savona himself sauntered into the library. Catching sight of me, he paused.  
  
"Hello, Lady Meliara," he said, nodding his head to me. "Do you know where that cousin of mine is?"  
  
I shook my head. He looked as if he wanted to swear, but was too polite to do so in my presence. He regained his composure, and sat down in a couch adjacent to mine.  
  
"Well, although I am happy for my cousin," he said flirtatiously, "it saddens me to lose such a wondrous creature such as yourself."  
  
I stared at him. "What are you talking about?" I asked.  
  
He just stared back blankly. "You mean- he didn't- you weren't-" He seemed lost for speech. "Well, nice seeing you this morning," he said, walking slowly away.  
  
"He had the perfect timing," Savona muttered, "and he didn't even tell her."  
  
I wasn't sure what he was talking about, but I had a sneaking suspicion.  
  
I read there for quite a while longer, completely wrapped in my reading, when someone stepped up behind me. I lowered my book and stared right into the face of Vidanric.  
  
"Mel." That was all he said. Mel. From the way he was staring at me, I knew that I hadn't dreamed it all up. Not a moment of it.  
  
"Hi." That was all I said. There must have been something in my eye that told him how I felt as well, for in the next moment, he was gathering me into his arms, kissing me so sweetly I thought my heart would stop. I was very glad to return the kiss.  
  
Someone at the door coughed. The two of us turned to find Savona smirking in the doorway.  
  
"Anyone could have just come in," he said with apparent disinterest. "You are lucky it was only me, though I am tempted to fight you for her."  
  
"Oh, stop pretending," I said. "I've known for quite a while now, as I'm sure you have."  
  
"I know everything," he said, his eyes twinkling. "I told one of the guards at the doors to alert me when you entered this library. I figured if you were anywhere but your work, you would be searching out Lady Meliara."  
  
"You know me too well, Russav," Vidanric said. "Now get out."  
  
Savona sighed. "Fine then," he said. "But first you both must promise to come to a small get-together I am hosting tomorrow evening. We will all be arriving there on horses. I just hope no one gets lost..." And with that, he left.  
  
"Lady Meliara, would you care to be my companion to this get-together tomorrow evening?" he asked, smiling down at me.  
  
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," I replied, pulling his smiling face down to mine.  
  
(Okay, okay, I know it's horrible. But this is my first attempt at a fanfic, and I am up against some major CCD fanfic writers, here. I don't expect it to be good compared to them. I am now up at 3:50 in the morning writing this, so you'd all be proud of me. Especially you, Felsong. You're the one that prodded me to write this, and now my next chapter of Welcome To Shadow Tower is going to take longer. Everyone, either send her a cookie for getting me to write this, or an evil glare for making me postpone WTST. I'll be sending both a very evil glare, and a very big cookie. If anyone thinks that this is okay and worth my while, I'll update once the next chapter's done. I'm probably only going to write one more chapter, as I don't want to continue this on forever.) 


	2. Last Chapter

(Everything here belongs to the stupendous Sherwood Smith. I am merely borrowing everything. I have not created anyone or anything in here. Basically, I only wish I did.)  
  
(Well, I'm back again! Thank you to everyone that has reviewed so far... seven people! Whoo! And thank you to everyone that voted for me. Two people. One being me. But hey! I'm not greedy! Go read the other writers and vote for them! I would... if only I hadn't voted for myself... *Breaks down onto hands and knees* I just wanted to feel special! Is that a crime? *Sob*) (By the way: I wouldn't vote for me if I were you.) (Is it just me, or is that sentence very confusing?) (Too many I's and me's...)  
  
(I dedicate this chapter to Liz and Dayna; heroes... er... *cough* heroines... to those of us with time on our hands aplenty, an abundance of imagination, and no maturity whatsoever.)  
  
Last Chapter  
  
I sat at my writing desk, a silly smile on my face, humming an untitled tune of my own. 'He loves me,' I thought as I plucked another petal off the daisy. The vase on the desk looked forlorn without it's centerpiece. 'He loves me not.' I stuck my tongue out at the petal.  
  
'He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me.' There were no more petals left. I sighed and sat back in my chair, smiling and humming.  
  
"My lady," Mora said, entering the room. "You have a visitor."  
  
Tamara brushed past Mora, her cheeks flushed as if she had just run to the room.  
  
"Is it true?" she demanded.  
  
"What?" I asked, taken aback.  
  
"Are you truly Shevraeth's date to Russav's get-together?"  
  
"Well," I said, squirming a little, "more like companions than dates."  
  
Tamara sort of hopped a little, clapping her hands with glee. "Oh, that makes me so pleased! I knew Russav was holding something from me. Oh, and he was being so cruel, holding it over my head. I'll wipe that smirk off his face when I tell him I will indeed not be joining him as his date-"  
  
"Why not?" I asked concernedly.  
  
Tamara just smiled. "I admit, it was the gentlemanly thing to do, taking you under his wing, but that does not give him the right to completely ignore me for months on end."  
  
"But you-" I stopped midsentence, not wishing to annoy Tamara.  
  
"I what?" she asked, still wrapped in her own dream world.  
  
I took a deep breath. "But you acted in exactly the same manner when you thought it would be beneficial to marry Vidanric."  
  
The wrapping came undone, and Tamara turned her eyes towards me. "I know," she said unhappily. "But I have learned my lesson, and I am tired of these goings on behind closed doors. I want him to just explain to me why he was doing this. I want him to tell me what will happen next rather than him telling his friend to tell their friend to tell me."  
  
"He does that?" I asked, shocked. I thought that had ended when children learned to read.  
  
"Unfortunately," she replied bitterly. "And Vidanric was usually the friend to tell my friend. I would never seriously chase after him. Never."  
  
I nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure everything will be sorted out in the end."  
  
"You can't blame me for wanting power."  
  
"I don't. I tried to take the crown, remember? I wanted power too."  
  
Tamara smiled distantly. "I know."  
  
Suddenly I had an idea. "What if we had a plan?" I suggested.  
  
"What sort of plan?" Tamara asked. She pretended to be disinterested, but her fan was waving a mile a minute.  
  
I smiled. "A plan to put both Vidanric and Russav in their places."  
  
Tamara clapped her hands in delight. "Oh yes! That sounds like a wonderful idea!" Tamara and I spent the greater part of the morning deciding what exactly we would do.  
  
Our final plan was brilliant.  
  
It took a greater portion of the morning, and much of the afternoon, but eventually, all the kinks were worked out of our plan.  
  
I stretched and yawned as Tamara did the same. We smiled at each other. I felt a bubble of laughter rise up in my throat. I giggled. Tamara held it in longer. But then she let out a giggle herself.  
  
"What's so funny?" Bran asked, entering. We told him our plan.  
  
He roared with laughter. Wiping tears from his eyes, he said, "They have it coming to them. That's all I can say."  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
(A/N: I wondered what to write as an ending. A grand finale. Something that would shock you to no end. Something you would never expect.) (Okay, some of us would expect.) (But before you read the last installment, let me just say: you don't have to do this. You can pretend you read the last part, and make up your own conclusions about the ending.) (Live blissfully oblivious.) (Or you can continue on and find out how it really ends. In my twisted mind.)  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"Vidanric, they're lovely," I crooned. He had given me flowers. Daffodils. "Unfortunately I'm... I'm... Aaachoooo!"  
  
"Allergic?" Vidanric supplied, grabbing the flowers and chucking them out the window.  
  
"Very much so," I said, rubbing my nose.  
  
Once I had gained my bearings, Vidanric escorted me outside to my waiting horse. Everyone else was already there. They whispered to each other, staring at me. Tamara winked. Bran wiggled his eyebrows as Nee elbowed him in the stomach. I just smiled at them serenely.  
  
"Are we ready to go?" Russav asked everyone, not waiting for a reply before starting off down a trail. Naturally, everyone followed him.  
  
"Come this way," Vidanric said, leading his horse down a different path than the others. I followed him, smiling to myself.  
  
We passed beautiful flowers, rabbits digging a hole for their home, deer eating leaves off the trees... it was gorgeous. Apparently, Vidanric was leading me to a surprise he had in store.  
  
"Mel," he said seriously, turning to me in his saddle, "I just wanted to tell you something."  
  
"Oh?" I asked. "What's that?"  
  
Vidanric opened his mouth to reply just as we were interrupted.  
  
"Hello, dear cousin," a voice behind us said. Vidanric and I whipped around, and there was Flauvic, dressed to kill, lounging against a tree.  
  
"Flauvic?" Vidanric said uncomprehendingly.  
  
Flauvic sighed. "You anger me, Vidanric. You turned me into a tree. The blue slippers I wore will never be the same." I looked at his feet, and there were his slippers... brown and looking kind of barky.  
  
"You cannot have Mel!" Vidanric said, moving in front of me to protect me.  
  
Flauvic smiled. "I think I already do."  
  
I smiled at my savior, dismounted my horse, and ran into Flauvic's outstretched arms. Behind us, Vidanric sputtered words that sounded little more than stuttering.  
  
"You're turning me down for... for..."  
  
"Flauvic?" Flauvic supplied.  
  
"What?" I said innocently. "You can't expect me to hang around with sticks- in-the-mud all my life."  
  
"But I thought you loved me!" Vidanric wailed.  
  
I clucked at him. "Au contraire. I pretended to- key word pretend- love you. But that was all before I realized how powerful my dear Flauvic was. You can't expect me to spend my life with a man that cannot color coordinate his own stockings!"  
  
Flauvic smirked. "Blue, red, and white on the top of the drawer, green, purple, and black on the bottom."  
  
Vidanric shook his head. "You're leaving me for this... this joke?" he exclaimed.  
  
"Well, at least I'm a funny joke instead of a dry, icky stick-in-the-mud who just lost their girl." Flauvic countered challengingly.  
  
The party we had originally set out with reached us.  
  
"Flauvic?" Savona said in wonder.  
  
"Savona," Flauvic smiled. "Your expression right now looks so much like Vidanric's."  
  
"Savona?" Vidanric said.  
  
"Bran?" Savona said.  
  
"Mel?" Bran said, enjoying the game.  
  
"Tamara," I shrugged.  
  
"Russav." She said, sighing.  
  
"Vidanric?" Savona said.  
  
"Flauvic?" Vidanric said.  
  
"Okay," Flauvic said irritably. "Now that we have completed the name game, I'll be collecting the crown right about now."  
  
"But I like the name game," Bran grumbled.  
  
"You'll never get past me!" Savona stated defiantly.  
  
Flauvic kicked him in the knee. Whimpering, Savona hid behind Tamara.  
  
"Oh, stop that," she said angrily. Swinging off her horse, she walked towards Flauvic and me.  
  
"Go beat him up," Savona whined.  
  
Instead of beating Savona up, she linked her arm with one of his, and I linked mine with his other.  
  
"Tamara?" Savona whimpered.  
  
Tamara just smiled at him.  
  
"We can beat Flauvic!" Vidanric shouted to the party. "There are more of us then him!"  
  
Everyone looked at each other uneasily.  
  
"His knee looks pretty painful," Deric said uncomfortably.  
  
"And he's right," Renna said awkwardly. "You really are a stick in the mud."  
  
Russav and Vidanric looked around. "You can't do this to us!" Vidanric cried.  
  
"Yes we can." I said. We all turned our backs on them and returned to the castle.  
  
"But you're our friends!" Savona cried. "Trishe? Nee? Bran?"  
  
Bran shrugged. "Hey, you snooze, you lose."  
  
All the doors were locked against the two of them. The last we heard of them, they were headed for Eriv-El-Erval to find someone to support their cause.  
  
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *  
  
"Thank you!" Flauvic cried the next Christmas as he opened my gift to him. Faux-fur footie pajamas. In pink.  
  
I smiled distantly.  
  
"Are you alright?" Flauvic asked, trying out Tamara's gift to him (101 Yoga Poses for Power-Hungry Rulers). It was rather hard to carry a serious conversation with him as he performed the Blooming Lotus position.  
  
"No, nothing is wrong," I said, stroking his gift to me (a dainty crown crested in diamonds and rubies).  
  
"I know that look," Tamara said, resting her crown on her head (diamonds and emeralds). "You're in love."  
  
I smiled at her. "You're right. I have money, position, power. I know it's love."  
  
"That's my girl...s." Flauvic said, making the word plural to encompass both Tamara and me. He grinned dreamily as he switched to Stretching Cat.  
  
(Black Rose, you really should make those rules iron hard. Any mentally disturbed nutter could change their story at any moment and what appears to be a date between Mel and Danric could veer into something else... But, alas, that isn't in the rulebook, so I can warp characters here all I want. I haven't gotten many votes, and I didn't expect to get many votes. In fact, I'm surprised I got any.) (I just hope that this still counts as an entry into the contest.) (And you know what the scary thing is? I originally intended this to be a serious fanfic... too bad my maturity is shot... (For all those grumbling that I did it wrong, I told you not to vote for me! *Victory dance.* Told ya so... told ya so...) (There's still time to take back your votes.) (I'll still have a vote: my own!) (I have a vote!) (Oh yeah!) (I win!) (*Sigh*) 


End file.
